5°o 



FARM, ORCHARD, DAIRY AND GARDEN. 



the buttermilk, a part of which might 

 otherwise remain in the butter. Butter 

 should stand but a short time after salt- 

 ing before it is worked enough to remove 

 nearly all the water, when it may be re- 

 salted, if necessary ; there should be suf- 

 ficient salt left in the butter at this time to 

 make a strong brine of the little water 

 that remains. It may then stand until the 

 next day, when it should be worked and 

 packed. On no account should butter be 

 allowed to stand long before working, as 

 it is apt to become streaked, often so 

 much so as to necessitate working over, 

 in order to restore a uniform color. Be- 

 sides, if neglected too long at this period, 

 a tendency to rancidity will be developed. 

 We realize the difficulty of giving explicit 

 directions for the second and last work- 

 ing of the butter — its final preparation for 

 packing. If not worked enough, every 

 one knows that the butter will soon spoil ; 

 if worked too much, it is spoiled already ; 

 though the danger of its being overworked 

 is less. A great deal of judgment and 

 discretion and somewhat of experience are 

 requisite in order to determine when it is 

 worked just enough ; the virtue of stop- 

 ping in this, as in many other cases, being 

 second only to that of doing. There are 

 some suggestions, however, which may 

 prove valuable, particularly to those 

 having little experience, ist. The butter 

 should not be too warm when worked, 

 nor should it be so cold as to make 

 working difficult. Immerse the ladle for 

 a few minutes in boiling water, and cool 

 perfectly in cold water ; then, if the but- 

 ter in the bowl is warm enough to admit 

 of putting the ladle through the whole 

 mass without difficulty, and dividing it up 

 without crumbling, and still hard enough 

 to cut clean and smooth, not the slightest 

 particle adhering to the ladle, then it is 

 in the right condition to work. 2d. It 

 should be worked with careful and gentle, 

 yet telling, pressure, and not by a series 

 of indiscriminate stirrings and mashings 

 and grindings against the sides of the 

 bowl. The butter is composed of minute 

 globules, which are crushed by this care- 

 less handling, thus rendering the butter 

 greasy and sticky, whereas it should re- 

 tain its clean, solid individuality up to the 

 time of packing, always working clear 

 from the bowl, and never sticking in the 

 least to the ladle. 3d. The butter should 



not be worked until it is perfectly dry. 

 When ready to pack it should have a 

 slight moisture about it — a sort of insen- 

 sible remains of the clear brine which has 

 been working off, and at the last, enough, soi 

 that when a trier is thrust into it a drop 

 or two of brine will ooze out around it* 

 and the trier itself be slightly wet, as if by 

 a slight dew. Overworking destroys all 

 the beautiful consistency of the butter;, 

 makes it dry and sticky ; greasy in sum- 

 mer, and tallowy in winter; gives it a dull 

 appearance, and a tendency to become 

 rancid. Altogether overworked butter is 

 very disagreeable, if not positively bad. 



Packing and Marketing. — Butter should 

 be packed solid, leaving no interstices of 

 air, and should completely fill the firkin, 

 tub, or pail, as the case may be, leaving a 

 flat surface. It is common to put a cloth 

 over the top, and a layer of salt on the 

 cloth. Some think it better to wet the 

 salt, making a brine. The cover should 

 then fit tightly, leaving no room for air 

 between it and the butter. Some butter,, 

 also, goes into market in the form of rolls, 

 some pine-apples, and other fancy forms 

 for the table, etc. Every person should 

 be guided by circumstances in his choice 

 of styles for putting up butter, always 

 being careful to give it a neat and attract- 

 ive appearance. If living at a distance 

 from market, and the dealers at his mar- 

 ket place buy for New York, he should 

 pack in firkins or tubs, so that the butter 

 can be safely kept through the season, 

 and the whole lot disposed of at once in 

 the fall. If at a convenient distance from 

 New York, fresh tubs or pails may be sent 

 in at intervals all through the season, or 

 the whole kept through, as he chooses; 

 or, if in the vicinity of any city, good 

 chances offer in the way of supplying 

 hotels, restaurants, etc., the butter should 

 be put in a style to suit the customers. 

 Some, who are hundreds of miles away, 

 make shipments of butter to New York 

 on their own account, instead of selling to 

 buyers at home, in which case, if their but- 

 ter is really superior, they will not be long 

 in making a reputation, and will soon be 

 able to secure a high price. Some few 

 have a stamp of their own, and labor as- 

 siduously to establish a value for it, as a 

 trade- mark. It is said that the best but- 

 ter-maker in the vicinity of Philadelphia 

 (who never sells for less than a dollar per 



